1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fields of chemistry and medicine. More particularly, the present invention relates to guanidinium containing compounds that exhibit enhanced transmembrane transport of biologically active molecules.
2. Description of the Related Art
Protein transduction domains (PTD) are short cationic peptides that are capable of delivering molecules into mammalian cells. They include many diverse peptide sequences from many diverse sources. The phenomenon that peptide sequences can assist molecules across biological barriers is ubiquitous in biological systems. Such phenomenon can take place at different levels, including subcellular (e.g., nuclear membranes), cellular (e.g., cell membranes), and tissue levels (e.g., epithelial tissue). Sometimes the same peptide sequences can promote different translocation events at different biological levels.